This invention relates generally to a method for repairing fiberglass boat hulls and more specifically to a method for repairing boat hulls which have become worn due to abrasion from sand and other materials.
Fiberglass boat hulls are particularly subject to abrasion. Contact with sand or mud, abrasions from docks or just general wear can cause the outer surface or gel coat to be stripped away.
Most commonly, the hulls of catamaran type boats are abraded from being pushed upon beach sand. These boats are typically 14 to 18 feet in length, and have two fiberglass pontoons which are generally "V" shaped on the bottom or keel. Sailors will push these boats up onto beach sand, or will gain velocity under sail and run them up onto the beach. The beach sand causes significant wear upon the fiberglass pontoons, particularly at the point of the "V".
The prior art has not provided a satisfactory way of repairing these boat hulls. New gel coat can be applied, but it is no more wear resistant than the original material, while being messy, time consuming and requiring a particular expertise to achieve satisfactory results. Epoxies and other compounds have been used, but heretofore no satisfactory way of reproducing the original hull shape and characteristics has existed without time consuming and tedious shaping of the material, or significant postcuring finishing.
Briefly, this invention involves the masking of the sides of the boat hull to each side of the worn area which is near the point of the "V". A wear resistant epoxy is then liberally applied to the exposed worn area. A template is then used to smooth the epoxy and form it to the desired shape in one step by pulling the template along the length of the hull. The masking material is then removed and the epoxy is allowed to dry.
The present invention allows the original shape of the hull to be reproduced while requiring only one forming and shaping step which takes only a few seconds to perform. It requires no thermosetting and no pressure other than manual pressure. It requires no post finishing work such as sanding, filling or trimming. While the method uses known epoxy material, is simple to use and requires no special tools, the use of the single template to shape and form the epoxy unexpectedly produces a repaired hull which matches the new fiberglass hull for speed and performance while being superior to the new hull in wear and abrasion resistance when metal or ceramic based epoxies are used.
While epoxies will not always bond to fiberglass, they have previously been used for fiberglass repair. However, until the present invention, the prior art has not produced a method which allows for fiberglass repair using epoxy to reproduce a particular, defined shape over an extended length which can be accomplished in one shaping and finishing step and which requires no subsequent finishing.